The rise of internet sales such as Amazon and Ebay and many more, has been a big factor. (Sears does internet sales, though, so that’s partly compensatory)
The biggest problem is the mix of merchandise.
It is almost entirely middle-of-the-line stuff.
That was just fine in the 1950’s, 1960’s...etc.
But with today’s economy... NOT!
There is a big (and regrettably growing) market for low priced stuff (since we have more people out of work than anytime in USA history!)
There is a big market, also, in high-end or luxury merchandise (those fewer number of people who do have good incomes still..... will and do spend much of same...)
Inbetween, you have less and less people... and many of them are hanging on for dear life, scared sh*tless they will soon wind up in the sky=high scrapheap of the unemployed (so they tend to hang onto their $ and not spend it much)
AND
Just shifting the market position upscale or downscale will not be easy for Sears. Sears did try to sell mink coats (nice enough merchandise but it feels really odd to walk into a Sears store and see a rack of $3000 fur coats inbewteen the $19 blouses and $12 bras)
Put simply, people with lots of $$$ don’t immediately jump at the opportunity to shop for expensive luxury goods in a Sears store (or, even be seen shopping there — that’s a big part of selling to the rich, too, successfully matching your store and its goods with the rich customers’ self-images and egos).
And going downscale may prove difficult for Sears, too, since many of its stores are in high-rent malls... and there’s a lot of operating overhead to cover.
And will Sears be able to maintain its commendable “no questions asked” Customer Service return/refund policy, if it fills its stores with tons of cheapo merchandise (quality control problems abound when you go downsacle, as makes sense of course)
Anyway, Sears is a classic case of being “caught in the middle” and Obama’s Great Recession ain’t helping the middle, not at all!
I just remembered this.....
Last year I bought a new Craftsman 21” lawn mower for $200 with a Briggs instant start engine.
It was replace a mower that was virtually identical. It was 24 years old and the sears receipt for the old one showed $200 purchase price.
The inflation rate for Sears mowers over 24 years was 0%. If I were an economist, I would say the price for a Craftsman is inelastic
There is a big market, also, in high-end or luxury merchandise (those fewer number of people who do have good incomes still..... will and do spend much of same...)
You have, without directly saying so, just described the destruction of the middle class in America.